Cannonball Express wrote:Is it just the higher cooking temps that get those beautiful colors on those chickens, or is there a secret? like butter or olive oil?!?!

You can alter color a few different ways. Spraying it with pam or brushing with oil with brown the chicken...sauce or a glaze will give it the "glistening" effect and make it orange or brown obviously... But the type of wood you choose can have a huge effect on it as well. Oak and pecan will give it more of the traditional medium brown, while apple makes it lighter than usual... if you want the mahogany look use cherry. Regardless of what you do with the above, always cook it a chicken at atleast 275, preferrable 325-350. L-n-S is usually chose because in theory the meat has a higher fat cotent that needs a lil time to break down during the cook, not the case with chicken. Fat isn't marbled throughout and the only thing you're rendering out is what is on the skin, so essentially unlike a brisket or rib it doesnt need time to render out throughout the entire cut. You're just trying to get it up to temp and the less time it's exposed to the heat the less time it has to dry out. Hopefully this paints as better picture of reasoning for you...

-Josh

Big Green EggPitmaker Vault"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." - Thomas Jefferson

Cannonball Express wrote:Is it just the higher cooking temps that get those beautiful colors on those chickens, or is there a secret? like butter or olive oil?!?!

You can alter color a few different ways. Spraying it with pam or brushing with oil with brown the chicken...sauce or a glaze will give it the "glistening" effect and make it orange or brown obviously... But the type of wood you choose can have a huge effect on it as well. Oak and pecan will give it more of the traditional medium brown, while apple makes it lighter than usual... if you want the mahogany look use cherry. Regardless of what you do with the above, always cook it a chicken at atleast 275, preferrable 325-350. L-n-S is usually chose because in theory the meat has a higher fat cotent that needs a lil time to break down during the cook, not the case with chicken. Fat isn't marbled throughout and the only thing you're rendering out is what is on the skin, so essentially unlike a brisket or rib it doesnt need time to render out throughout the entire cut. You're just trying to get it up to temp and the less time it's exposed to the heat the less time it has to dry out. Hopefully this paints as better picture of reasoning for you...

I cut my chicken in halves, I personally dont see a benefit to leaving the bird spatchcocked vs a full split. In fact I cut into halves so I dont worry about the skin pulling after it's cooked. As for the rib bones, the only reason I may remove them is because I'm brining in a bag and dont want them to puncture it.

-Josh

Big Green EggPitmaker Vault"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." - Thomas Jefferson

Butchers seems to be a better option for me than the Kosmo's I tried, but the Kosmo's was a fine product and I'm sure there are an ample number of people experiencing success with it. Butchers seems to mix easier for me.

Tried the bird booster, pocketed too much with weird yellow color mixed half strength. That forced me to make my own brine injection and we been on a roll ever since then in chicken. Also , just FYI, everyone that tried the bird booster at our tasting got the S***s! The flavor you can get into your bird by making your own injection can be mind blowing.

Life has no remote control, get up and change it yourself!Those willing to sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither - Benjamin FranklinMy $.02 is worth $37.50